Last Updated: 18/11/15 5:20pm
Rory McIlroy says his European Tour season has had ups and downs but it would be great to finish on a high winning the final tournament and Race to Dubai
Rory McIlroy is drawing on "happy memories" in Dubai as he attempts to become European No 1 for the third time in four years at this week's DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy goes into the season-ending event with a slender lead of just 1,600 points over Danny Willett in the Race to Dubai standings, but looking back on his sparkling record at the Jumeirah Golf Estates fills him with confidence.
The world No 3 had already wrapped up the Race to Dubai title ahead of the season finale last year, and he could have repeated that had his 2015 campaign not been disrupted by the freak ankle injury he suffered shortly before the Scottish Open in July.
McIlroy wants to sign off with a win before taking a nine-week break
But he insists he is back to full fitness, and he is hoping to bounce back from a frustrating week at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where he was laid low by a severe bout of food poisoning.
"It's always great to come back to Dubai," said McIlroy, who has finished outside of the top five over the Earth Course just once in six appearances.
"It's a place where I've got a lot of great memories. You know, going back six years, winning my first professional title the Dubai Desert Classic, winning a couple of Race to Dubai titles and winning the Dubai Desert Classic again this year.
McIlroy wrapped up the Race to Dubai title for the second time in three years 12 months ago
"It's always been a great place for me. So it would be nice to do the Dubai double this year and pick up The Race to Dubai title to go with it. I just want to win the tournament. I don't care who finishes second, who finishes third. If I am the champion at the end of the week, it means that I win The Race to Dubai and that's all I'm really thinking about.
"My game feels in good shape, it really does. I felt like it was good in Turkey and I felt like going into China, I could see improvements each and every day, but obviously things didn't work out so well for me there. But I feel like I still finished well. It was a good week, but it could have been better.
McIlroy is delighted the European Tour permitted him to play in the Final Series
"I hit the ball great from tee to green, but on the greens it was a different story and my energy levels weren't quite there. But I felt like it was still a positive week in some ways. And now getting to Dubai and feeling at full strength and feeling 100 per cent healthy, I feel like I've got a great chance on a golf course that I've played very well at before.
"I think I've probably got even more aggressive on this golf course as time has gone on because I've got to know the course better. And I really think this golf course plays into the hands of the long hitters. If you can carry the ball 300 yards off the tee, you can really shorten some of the par-fours and it gives you a big advantage on the par-fives."
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